Chapter 80 — Traces in the Dark
A shinobi should never expose his back to an enemy—
especially not to someone who excels in kenjutsu.
The corpse at Taichi's feet illustrated this truth perfectly.
Despite being the strongest of the three attackers, fear had shattered the man's will. He hadn't even managed a real defense before Taichi's blade carved his chest open, blood splashing across the dirt like scattered petals.
With the threat inside the medical tent finally eliminated, Taichi scanned the battlefield outside. Shouts, explosions, metal clashing—all of it blended into a violent, chaotic roar. The noise couldn't draw his attention.
But the killing intent—thick, suffocating, undeniable—certainly could.
Following that sensation, Taichi's gaze locked onto a figure:
a jōnin, locked in fierce combat with Captain Yamaguchi.
That was not someone Taichi could handle yet.
He shifted his focus without hesitation and sprinted toward the densest cluster of enemy chūnin.
What followed was nothing short of a slaughter.
With jōnin-level kenjutsu and speed, Taichi slipped in and out among them like a white specter. He avoided direct clashes, instead weaving between dueling pairs and using friendly engagements as cover—his blade flashing in those tiny moments of distraction to silently claim another life.
The white medical uniform he wore made him look almost ghostly under the moonlight.
Wherever he drifted, bodies fell.
As Taichi carved through the enemy ranks, more and more Konoha shinobi were freed from their struggles. They rejoined other fronts, tipping the momentum overwhelmingly toward the Leaf.
Then Taichi reached another struggling pair.
This Konoha shinobi was in bad shape—outmatched, barely keeping up, multiple shallow wounds already slowing him down. His entire focus was on defense; he didn't even notice Taichi's presence, nor the shift in the battle around him.
His opponent, however, did notice.
The man had witnessed Taichi's earlier "ghost work," seen him butcher several comrades like chickens. Watching that same white-clad shadow approach now filled the bounty hunter with cold dread.
Terror suffocated his last bit of reason.
He wasn't a village shinobi with loyalty to uphold—he was a mercenary.
There was no sense in dying for an impossible job.
With a wild kick, he knocked back the Leaf shinobi, spun on his heel, and fled at full speed before Taichi could close the distance.
And just like a falling domino, his retreat triggered the entire collapse.
Other bounty ninja—those still barely holding on—saw the flight and immediately broke. Some forced their opponents back, some took small wounds to disengage, but all of them turned tail and ran.
Taichi froze for half a heartbeat.
He hadn't expected them to crumble that easily.
He had overestimated their integrity… or rather, forgotten that bounty hunters had none.
Sweeping his eyes across the battlefield, Taichi realized the fight was essentially over. The two strongest enemy jōnin had fled the moment the first deserter broke ranks. Everything left on the field were stragglers too slow or too clueless to escape.
You couldn't expect mercenaries to stay behind and cover the retreat.
When death came, everyone only cared about themselves.
With the battle decided, Taichi regrouped with Captain Yamaguchi, who was already speaking with Chiba, the outpost leader. As Taichi approached, both seemed to have finished their discussion.
Before Yamaguchi could speak, Chiba addressed him with sincere astonishment:
"Taichi… I truly didn't expect this.
Your medical ninjutsu is exceptional—but your kenjutsu is equally terrifying."
"You flatter me, Chiba-dono," Taichi replied modestly.
"No flattery. You've proven your ability tonight."
Chiba's tone became serious.
"And as it happens, there's a mission that requires exactly your level of strength."
Taichi didn't answer immediately.
He first turned his gaze toward his own captain—after all, Yamaguchi was his direct superior.
Seeing Yamaguchi give a firm nod, Taichi finally looked back to Chiba and asked about the details.
Chiba didn't mind the formality. In fact, he approved.
This was how a proper shinobi behaved.
"The majority of the enemy has already fled," Chiba explained. "Those still fighting won't last long. In a moment, we'll intentionally let one of them escape. Your mission is to follow him—track him all the way back to their hideout and uncover whatever intelligence you can."
"Just me alone?"
"Yōhei will go with you," Yamaguchi added. "You two can watch each other's backs."
"Understood!" Taichi accepted without hesitation.
As the plan went into effect, one enemy shinobi "found an opening," pushed back his Konoha opponent, and bolted into the night. He never noticed that two shadows—Taichi and Yōhei—had silently melted into the darkness behind him.
The "survivor's" escape was like a starter pistol.
With one look, the Konoha shinobi surged forward and swiftly cleaned up the remaining stragglers.
---
Inside the command tent
Chiba and Yamaguchi had been waiting for the battle report.
"…Total enemy casualties: fifteen dead, nine escaped.
Our side: two dead, seven lightly wounded. Everyone else unharmed. Report complete."
Chiba exhaled heavily. "So we still lost people…"
"It couldn't be helped," Yamaguchi said. "They outnumbered us. Frankly, this outcome is already exceptional. The village won't fault you."
"It's not the village I'm worried about. They were my men. To die in such a pointless, cowardly ambush… it's hard to swallow."
Yamaguchi nodded. "If Taichi and Yōhei return with solid intel, we'll at least know who's pulling strings behind these attacks."
---
Far outside the outpost, Taichi and Yōhei trailed the fleeing enemy from a distance—never too close, always just at the edge of detection. The darkness was thick, but Yōhei's Sharingan cut through the night far better than any normal eyes could.
The fugitive was careful, too—constantly switching directions, circling around, doubling back. Clearly, he feared being followed.
But with each faint footprint, each crushed leaf, each broken blade of grass, Yōhei's Sharingan kept them on the trail.
By the time the sky paled with early morning light, the man finally led them to the mouth of a mountain cave.
He slipped inside.
Minutes passed.
He didn't come back out.
The two crouched behind a boulder, whispering.
"You got any way to sneak in unseen?" Taichi whispered.
Yōhei widened his Sharingan eyes as if saying, Do I look like someone who can do infiltration?
"…We could wait for someone to come out alone and capture him for interrogation?" Yōhei suggested tentatively.
Taichi covered his face with his hand.
"And why did we bother letting that guy escape then? We could've grabbed him earlier. Grunts like these don't know anything important."
"…That's… fair." Yōhei nodded sheepishly.
"I'll handle it."
Taichi shifted his gaze inward. His focus sharpened.
A glowing prompt hovered in his mind:
[Earth Release Nature Transformation Lv0 (52/100)]
He had wanted to master it gradually…
But now, circumstances required a shortcut.
"Guess I'll have to accelerate the training."
---